Not Even Time Arc
by Petra Megami Assari
Summary: Sometimes, we don't always understand why people do the things they do. Severus Snape is not who he appears to be and does things for reasons that would surprise most people. He thinks that no one realizes it... he's wrong.
1. With Lily's Eyes

Petra: *sigh* Do not even ask what is with all the Harry Potter fics. I don't know anymore than you... *glares at Kati*  
Kati: *whistles innocently*   
Petra: Sure... anyway... actually, I don't remember exactly what fic I was reading when I got this idea but... I was reading a fic and I thought, "Maybe Snape had a reason for acting like he did to Harry..."   
Kati: And, thus, another fic was created.   
Petra: I don't understand what all the Harry Potter stuff is about though...   
Kati: *laugh*  
  
DEDICATED: Everyone has a reason for doing something... and some are nobler than most.  
WARNING: If you thought you knew Severus Snape... think again...  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter. I merely like to play in Rowling-san's playground every once in a while... a lot lately...  
  
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With Lily's Eyes  
  
"There are moments when everything falls away, leaving only the naked truth behind, trembling in its vulnerability." -0083; One (GW)  
  
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The sounds of the feast in the Great Hall slowly began to disappear as Severus Snape walked away in his long, distance-swallowing stride that every student in Hogwarts had learned to recognize and dread. No one would miss him at the graduation party, except for the few that were brave and/or desperate enough to try and pull a prank on him. He usually stayed for part of the graduation party, just so that Albus didn't complain about his anti-social nature but this year… he couldn't. He had slipped out as soon as the party had been in even partial swing and now he was walking hurriedly down the hallway, daring anyone to see and stop him. No one did, so he continued without interruption until he got to his room in the dungeons.   
  
He murmured his password and touched his wand to his door, making it swing open and he gratefully walked inside, closing the door behind him. As soon as the door was shut, though, he changed. Not in appearance, no, but subtlety. His shoulders slumped, as though all the energy had been drained out of him and he let out a great, sad sigh. He leaned back against the door his eyes closed, and if any of his students had seen him then, they would have died from shock, as a slow, soft smile made its way over his face. "Did you see him, Lily?" he whispered to the dank air. "You would have been so proud. Though he took after James a little more I was comfortable with…"  
  
He sighed again and he moved toward the middle of the room, toward the armchairs that sat in front of the fire. Even though he was far from an old man, he moved as though he was one, carefully and deliberately. He chuckled at his morbid thoughts and couldn't help but think that he also felt like an old man. He was tired, tired of the partial acting and the Potter boy certainly hadn't helped him feel any younger. He was sure he'd lost many future years, simply to the worry he spent on the boy.   
  
He sat down and leaned back, basking in the warmth that seemed so hard to come by. It seemed like no one had been able to get warm enough in the past few years… Severus shook his head sadly. All those lives lost… "Lily…" Severus remembered back to the few good memories in his years as a student at Hogwarts. Of course, due to his natural antisocial nature, he hadn't had any friends, and yet Lily had still befriended him… for no reason. He still considered her a great friend and admitted without denial that he was still bitter that James had stolen her away, though he knew that they'd been drifting apart to begin with. Oh, no, he hadn't been in love with her, but she had been in his only friend. They'd slowly lost touch after they'd graduated and, it wasn't until the news of Lily's death reached his ears, that he'd realized he'd taken for granted the fact that she would always been there. Taken for granted the fact that she would have opened her arms even after all those years of separation and welcomed him back into her life. Now, however, she was gone… It was his biggest regret and it still struck a chord in him, when Potter looked at him with Lily's eyes, full of anger or sorrow.   
  
He hadn't seen sorrow very often, after all he was the "meanest" teacher. Severus opened his eyes at that thought, as a small smile lit his face. It had been hard to effectively distance himself from the students, but he done it. He'd knew he'd have to do it for Lily's son… it was the last thing he could do for a friend that he had let go too soon and realized the truth about too late. There was always a teacher at school that no one cared for, that everyone hated, and when Severus had agreed to teach, there had been no one. He knew, perhaps too well, that there had to be a teacher to draw houses together so… he'd let himself become nasty to the students and completely unfair in the giving or taking of house points.   
  
Severus, despite the deep and engrained belief of every student in the school, was not a nasty man by nature, but he'd had to become one to help Potter. Someone had to be the hated teacher and, when it came down to it, Severus had decided that he didn't want any of the other teachers to go through it. He'd gladly offered himself up, as though he were a sacrificial lamb at the altar. Yes, sometimes it disturbed him how truly good he was at it. Yes, he sometimes got up in the morning and just wanted to smile… but he didn't. The students had to hate someone and, self-sacrificing him, he'd almost gladly bared his throat to the knife that was the student body. His father had always been so disappointed in that particular little weakness of hating to see the people he cared about suffer…   
  
Severus quickly banished the thoughts from his heard, not wanting to dwell on such things, and irresistibly his thoughts turned to Potter, who was at the moment, no longer a school boy. Potter… He had done it all for Lily's child but the child would never know… and that was how Severus wanted it. He had known from the very beginning that Lily's child would receive special treatment and, while he'd badly wanted to do the same, he'd known that he couldn't. More now than ever before, he needed to be the most hated teacher, he needed to give something to Potter, something the boy could have in common with everyone else. Potter would never realize, but Severus had not only helped Potter with life in general, but also in forging friendships. If he had shown favoritism to the "boy-who-lived", then the boy would have been further alienated from the other students, so he tried to treat him the same… or at least had planned to…  
  
He hadn't expect the boy to have Lily's eyes though, and that been almost his undoing; when the boy had looked up at his name and met Severus' gaze with emerald green eyes that first school day, oh so long ago. He knew that he treated Potter even worse than the other students, but he had to go the extreme or not do it all. It had hurt, more than Severus would ever admit vocally, to drive away the only part of Lily left in the world, the only part of the only friend he'd ever had. Severus stared pensively into the fire. Severus had hurt Potter, embarrassed him, and unfairly punished him. Severus had shown him how much worse life could have been and that in eyes of at least one person, he was normal. Severus had helped him get past the hero-worship of his father, as any normal boy with living father would naturally have, but Severus had had to force him to see it, and Potter had hated him for it. For you see, Severus had done something no other person had ever done for Potter, Severus had treated him as though he was he was a regular student…   
  
"You won't ever thank me for it, boy, but I didn't do it for the thanks," he whispered. For a minute, he thought he saw Lily in the fire, laughing at him. He could almost hear her voice chiding him on being a meany for no reason but… he knew that she would have approved. How did he know? They had once been friends, and not even time could change that.   
  
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IMPORTANT NOTE: For those of you that wish it, DUE TO MY SPORADIC postings, I am offering you, the readers, A MAILING LIST to sign up to. When I finally UPDATE, I will SEND OUT AN EMAIL informing those of you that are on the list that I have finally updated. I need you to EMAIL me, telling that you wish to sign up, and whether it's for ORIGINAL FICTION or FANFICTION. I WILL NOT accept those people that ask to be up on it in a review because I can't be sure that email is real. The mailing list will ALSO OFFER the TITLES of those works that I am posting, the COUPLES (if any) that are in it, which FANDOM it is from, and whether it is a SEQUEL to anything.   
  
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Kati: Be looking for a sequel!  
Petra: No! *runs away screaming*  
Kati: What was all that about?  
Petra: Sorry... just a sudden glitch.  
Kati: A glitch.  
Petra: *nods* A glitch.  
Kati: But you're... *sigh* Nevermind.  
  
"I dream of a day when I can open my eyes, and my dreams won't disappear."   
-Rose Marie Ledam  
  
~Petra Megami Assari~  
*The Gentle Tiger Goddess* 


	2. Pictures

Petra: After I finished 'With Lily's Eyes' I found that it felt... somehow... incompleted. There needed to be more, it seemed to me.  
Kati: And I graciously agreed.  
Petra: *under breath* Graciously, my ass.   
Kati: And so here it is.  
  
DEDICATED: You'd be suprised what the people around you can see, if they would just open their eyes and pay attetion.  
WARNING: Severus-sensei being melancholy, though it isn't bad enough to be called angst.  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter.  
  
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Pictures  
  
"Draw me a picture worth a thousand words and I will write a poem worth a million pictures." -0083; Evergreen (GW)  
  
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The night after the graduation party, Severus Snape was, as usual, stuck in his room. However, what he was doing at the moment would have surprised even his most understanding student… he was laughing at pictures in a photo album. Those who had seen Harry Potter's photo album might recognize quite a few pictures of just his mother, or of his mother with fellow classmates. Severus smiled as he closed the photo album, bittersweet memories still lingering in his mind.   
  
He leaned back in his chair and looked at the picture hanging on the wall and then smirked as a young Lily stuck her tongue out at him, only to be playfully pushed aside by a young Severus. Maybe it was time that he quit teaching, quit being the most hated teacher. He had looked after Lily's child, as he had promised himself he would and now that Voldemort was gone for good, Severus wasn't worried. He wouldn't mind leaving his old life behind, setting out and starting a new life somewhere else. His nonexistence social life meant that he had quite a lot of money saved up, money that otherwise would have went on extra food or trips or presents.   
  
Did he regret alienating all the teachers and students in the school? Somewhat, he supposed, his gaze drifting to the fire, as it usually did when he was thinking. It was worth giving all that up, though, so that the Potter boy would have a chance at as normal a life as possible. It was the least he owed Lily… However, it wouldn't be hard to get a new start, change his name, and pretend he was someone else once he was out of Hogwarts. That decided, Severus leaned back in his chair, figuring that he could wait until tomorrow to put in his resignation.   
  
However, the tall man almost fell out of his chair as knocking at the door startled him out of his thoughts. He stared in confusion at the portal for a minute, wondering if he had finally lost his mind and was hearing things. However, a second, slightly louder knocking managed to convince him that, no, he had not gone crazy but he still couldn't imagine who would be knocking on his door at night. It was around ten and, while that wasn't late, it wasn't the normal time for visitors.   
  
Standing up with a grace that the students would have been slack-jawed to see, Severus walked over the door and pulled it open. "Yes…" he trailed off, however, as soon as he saw who it was standing in front of him, looking slightly uncomfortable. Harry James Potter.  
  
"Hullo, Professor Snape, sir," Potter said, smiling slightly.  
  
"What do you want, Potter?" Severus asked, confused and sure that perhaps he was insane and wasn't just hearing things, but also seeing them.   
  
Potter shrugged and gave Severus a ruthful smile. "I thought it might be nice to talk to you, Professor Snape," he answered.   
  
Severus raised an eyebrow but stepped aside anyways, letting Potter walk into the room and, as he close the door, said, "You don't have to call me Professor anymore, Potter. Snape will be just fine." He was quite sure now that was, indeed, completely insane. The only thing to do was to talk until the hallucination of Potter went away and then tell Madam Pomfrey that he had finally snapped.  
  
Potter smiled and nodded, looking around the room. However, the picture that Severus had just been looking at caught his interest. "What…?" Severus couldn't help the small smile that pulled at his lips, at the look on Potter's face. "Pro… Snape, this is a picture of my mother." Potter appeared confused. "But who's this other kid?" He pointed at the old picture of Severus who was currently tickling Lily mercilessly.   
  
Severus couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped as he said, "That would be a very young me, Potter." After smiling at the look on Potter's face he asked, "Would you like some tea, perhaps? Or something else to drink?"  
  
"Tea'll be fine…" Potter replied, his nose almost pressed against the picture, as though he was trying to figure out where the trick was. Rather than waste time making it, Snape conjured some boiling water into the teapot and then dumped the tealeaves in it. With a whispered word, the water boiled and then cooled to a drinkable temperature quickly. He placed the teapot, two cups and saucers, and milk and sugar on the tray, before carrying it into the living room, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Potter had moved onto other pictures throughout the room, almost all of which held Lily in them.  
  
"I have this picture…" Potter murmured, pointing to a picture where Lily sat in a field, waving.   
  
"I know," Severus said, motioning to Potter to sit down. "Where do you think you go the extra copy from?"   
  
Potter sat down, confusion still written on his face. "But why do you have so many pictures of my mum?" he asked, looking at Severus piercingly, as Severus poured the tea, handing Potter's cup to him.   
  
Severus couldn't help the peaceful smile that crossed his face and, ignoring the shocked look on Potter's face, he replied, "Lily and I were friends when we went to school. Once we left, however, we gradually lost touch, due to a culmination of things."  
  
"My dad," Potter said, a sudden fiery light entering his eyes, as though Potter expected Severus to start insulting him. Why should Severus? He had made Potter see the truth about his father, that he wasn't perfect, as most people would have him believed to be, and as far as he was concerned, he didn't care anymore about James Potter… despite the fact that the man had been a stuck-up bastard. Severus smirked.  
  
"Your father was one of them, I freely admit, but we were growing apart without his help. That is something that I regret to this day; she was the only person I could call a true friend and I lost her. I miss her greatly…" Severus' gaze had drifted to the fire as he spoke so he missed the small smile that crossed Potter's face. When he looked back the smile was gone and Potter himself was staring pensively into the fire. "What did you wish to talk to me about, Potter?"   
  
Potter shook his head slightly, as though he'd fallen into a daze, and then turned back and said, "Well, Snape, you left the party so early last night that I doubt you heard the news."   
  
"What news?" Snape asked, interested only slightly. After all, anything that had to do with the school would shortly be left behind.  
  
"I am to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Potter said, carefully watching Snape.  
  
Ah, Lily, you would truly have been proud… "Congratulations, Potter," Snape said, nodding his head respectfully even as he leaned back. "I never doubted that the offer would be made, though I did wonder whether or not you would accept it."  
  
"What?" Potter asked in confusion. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Potter, I have known since third or fourth year that you would make a great DADA teacher and, if even I hadn't noticed this, I had no doubt that Albus noticed it. It was only a matter on whether or not you would want to be a teacher out of the many jobs that are open to you."  
  
"You're not mad that you were skipped over the job once again?" Potter asked suspiciously.  
  
"Potter, I knew for a long time that I would hate that job, but Voldemort had ordered me to get the job if I could. I truly didn't care, but I had to make it look like I cared, didn't I?" Potter nodded dumbly.   
  
Severus shrugged and watched Potter. Yes, there was a lot of James in Potter, but there was a lot of Lily, too, even if it was mostly in his mannerisms. Those eyes though… Potter suddenly looked up and caught the look Severus was giving him and a pang hit his heart. Lily, I would have loved to have gotten to know your son…  
  
"I had probably better go, then, Snape," Potter said, confusion still radiating from his movements as he stood. "It was… enjoyable… talking to you."  
  
Severus let out a chuckle as he stood up but Potter shook his head. "I can let myself out." Severus nodded and watched as Potter opened the door but, instead of stepping outside, he turned around and looked at Severus. "Snape… Severus…" Severus jerked in surprise at his first name from Potter. "Thank you…"   
  
Now it was Severus' turn to be confused. "What are you talking about, Potter?"   
  
Harry smiled, a smile that reminded Severus very much of his best friend, as he said, "For treating me like everyone else…" And then he was gone, the door shutting quietly behind him.   
  
Severus sat in that spot, still looking at the doorway, for a long time before he managed to shake his shock off. However, once he was over it, he let his head fall back and laughter poured forth from his lips. How so like Lily to see something no one else would have seen! As he got up, taking the tray with to the kitchen, he couldn't help the thought that maybe now wouldn't be the best time to resign, after all a year with Harry Potter as the DADA teacher was sure to be interesting and fairly entertaining. As he finished washing the dishes, he couldn't thinking: Lily, I am going to love getting to know your son.   
  
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IMPORTANT NOTE: For those of you that wish it, DUE TO MY SPORADIC postings, I am offering you, the readers, A MAILING LIST to sign up to. When I finally UPDATE, I will SEND OUT AN EMAIL informing those of you that are on the list that I have finally updated. I need you to EMAIL me, telling that you wish to sign up, and whether it's for ORIGINAL FICTION or FANFICTION. I WILL NOT accept those people that ask to be up on it in a review because I can't be sure that email is real. The mailing list will ALSO OFFER the TITLES of those works that I am posting, the COUPLES (if any) that are in it, which FANDOM it is from, and whether it is a SEQUEL to anything.   
  
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Petra: Well... there you have it. What do you think?   
Kati: Cute, ne?  
Petra: *sigh* There's at least one more after this.   
Kati: Yeppers, so review so you'll be thanked like:  
  
C-CHAN: That's true; you don't really get any non-slash with Harry and Draco being nice to each other. Which is kind of sad, because I really think that they would have been or could be good friends. I've read a few Draco and Ron, but I just don't think that Ron's the type to forgive everything that Draco's said and done to both him and Harry. Wow... Harry and the Whomping Willow, ne? That sounds... really, really, really disturbing. I'm not really a big fan of Lord of the Rings slash... I don't know why... (Kati: Yes, you do! Just admit it! You just want Legolas to yourself!) *blush* Shut your mouth! Have you ever read Rhysenn? She's an absolutely beautiful writer that'll make you twitch with jealously, and she writes both Harry Potter slash (there is at least one, maybe a couple, Draco/Ron though she writes mostly Draco/Harry, but she writes a bunch of others; all of them are good) and Lord of the Rings slash (I've read a couple, just because I like how she writes, but I don't like 'em enough to read 'em all). You should check her out. Anyways, thank you for the review, and don't worry about it being long, my answer is longer. ^_^  
  
"I dream of a day when I can open my eyes, and my dreams won't disappear."   
-Rose Marie Ledam  
  
~Petra Megami Assari~  
*The Gentle Tiger Goddess* 


	3. Family and Friends

Petra: This one came to me... Okay, that's total bs, I have no idea what I was thinking when I wrote this. sighs   
Kati: We just needed to see more.   
Petra: Don't ask us why... we don't know...   
Kati: But here it is...

DEDICATED: To those that have been unknowingly hurt by people they thought were their friends. You're not alone...   
WARNING: Angst   
DISCLAIMER: See chapters 1 or 2.

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Family and Friends

" . . . maybe having no one know you, inside and out, isn't real loneliness. Maybe having friends who might know you as well as could be managed, and still don'tlove you... That, I decided, is what it means to truly be alone." -Sol 1056; Nothing Like the Sun

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Ron Weasley walked down the hall quickly, excitement in every step, and he wondered what Harry would think of him. He hadn't changed much, he admitted, but he had, much to this mother's consternation, gotten his right ear pierced. He smirked as he fingered the small gem which wasn't just the decoration his mother thought it was; in actuality, he had chosen it so that he could lay a simple protection spell on it, something that, unlike a necklace, couldn't be easily pulled off. Ron had drifted between jobs at first, not knowing what exactly he wanted to do. The fact of the matter, now that Ron thought of it, was he had many skills. He could play chess with the best and had had an offer from the English Chess League. He'd had a couple offers for playing Quiditch professionally and he had, for a while, contemplated that… but after all that he and Harry and Hermione had been through, he couldn't help the wild blood that ran through him. So, much to his mother's horror and his father's pride, he'd become an Auror.

Ron passed a couple students in the hall and smiled at them, winking when they stared at the Auror with gaping jaws. Had he really not seen Harry Potter, his best friend, for a year and a half? In some ways, it seemed as though he hadn't seen Harry in so many years and yet… in Harry's letters he sensed something… different. A peace that Harry hadn't ever had due to the kind of anxious acceptance for family that Ron had felt since he had first met the orphan. It was still amazing to Ron to know that Harry would have traded all his fame for Ron's simple family life, yet Ron knew he probably would have too, in Harry's position.

Ron sighed and then proceeded down the hallway, counting doors on his right until he came to the sixth one. The hallways were deserted down near the teacher's corridors; the Christmas season left most people up in their rooms. Ron breathed in deeply, anticipation and nervousness making his stomach jump about. One and a half years… God… Sure they had kept in touch be letters but… Ron raised his hand and knocked.

After a few minutes Harry opened the door, his hair still tousled and the familiar lightning bolt scar still peeking out through his bangs.

"Ron?" Harry said in surprise, his eyes going wide as his gaze swept over his friend.

"Surprise," Ron announced, a big, rather silly smile, taking over his lips.

"Ron!" Harry cried with joy, stepping forward, and embracing the young man. "How have you been?" He laughed at himself as he said, "What am I doing? Come in, we'll talk inside. I hope you don't mind but I have company over." There was an odd twinkle in Harry's eyes that Ron didn't like…

Ron entered the room and followed after Harry as Harry led him down a short hallway to the living room. "Ron…" Harry moved the side as he continued, "You remember Professor Severus Snape, don't you?"

Ron stared in shock at the older man who sat in Harry's living room, a teacup not doing much to cover up the smile that was forming as the teacher saw the look on Ron's face. "I'm sure he hasn't forgotten me, Harry," Snape replied, laughter dancing in his eyes.

Ron couldn't believe it. Was this really Severus Snape, the potion's teacher? It looked like him, but his manner was completely different; he moved with a grace and enthusiasm that Ron's most despised teacher never had. He was smiling and laughing, he didn't sit as though the entire world sat upon his shoulder, but most notably of all, was the simple fact that he was talking to Harry as though they were old friends.

"Ron? Ron…?" Ron finally realized that Harry was standing in front of him, waving his hand. "Ron, are you alright?"

"Um… yeah… sure…" Ron stammered, glancing at Snape and shocked to find that the man, unlike the past, wasn't smirking cruelly at his discomfort, but was laughing as a friend would at the look on his face.

"I'll go get him a cup of tea, Harry," Snape said, standing with a grace that made Ron's head spin.

"Alright, Severus. Two sugars and a splash of milk?" Harry asked, glancing at Ron for confirmation, which the young man gave.

As soon as Snape was out of sight Ron leaned forward and grabbed Harry's arm, making Harry turn in surprise. "What the hell is that stupid git doing here?" Ron whispered angrily.

Ron saw a brief flash of fury cross Harry's features before it disappeared, carefully masked by a neutral face; Ron couldn't help the hurt that flashed through him. Since when did Harry feel he needed to hide his feelings from Ron? "He's not a 'stupid git', Ron, and I would ask you not to call him that," Harry said, gently prying Ron's fingers off his arm. "I realize that this may come as a shock to you but… well… you and Hermione left me alone and you were the only friends I'd ever had. He and I spent Christmas together last year and we'll probably spend it together this year as well. Severus isn't as bad as you may think; everything he did to us was because of me, and for that I'm sorry."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Ron asked, hurt dancing in his eyes. Okay, sure, it was true that he and Hermione had left Harry alone but Harry could have come and visit them… Well… not really… except during break… and then they had always been busy… But still! Snape?!

Harry pointed to a picture on the wall and said, "Severus and my mum were best friends." Ron turned in shock to see a small child, which vaguely reminded him of Snape, and Harry's mum playing with each other. A soft peaceful smile came over Harry's face as he stared at the picture. "It's kind of funny, but until last year I didn't realize that everyone was always talking about my dad with me and I never really thought about my mum, about how little I knew about her. Severus and I… we started out talking about her and we found that we other things in common as well. He became my friend…"

Harry looked at Ron who sputtered, "But…"

Harry shook his head, looking sad, and said, "And he was there for me when you weren't, Ron." His gaze was slightly cold when he looked Ron in the eye again. "Did you even come and visit me on the day Sirius died?" Ron barely managed to hold back a grimace. "No, Ron, neither you or Hermione did. It doesn't get easier through the years, Ron. They lied, the people who said that. It still hurts as much today as it did that day all those years ago. Severus was here for me, Ron, and you weren't…" Harry sighed and blinked. "I didn't mind Christmas… or even my birthday… but you didn't even come on that day…"

Ron didn't like the fact that he was feeling guilty, especially since Harry had gone and become friends with Snape. "Well, you could have told me in the letters how you felt!" Ron practically screamed.

"How?" Harry asked, shaking his head. "Dear Ron, I feel like shit today because you weren't here yesterday. I'm sorry that I'm not important enough to care about. I'm sorry that our friendship was special to me, but apparently not to you."

"What do you mean?!" Ron wanted to scream at the young man in front of him.

"You don't understand!" Harry yelled. "You don't understand because you always had friends and didn't know what it was like to go without any! But you were one of my first friends! Don't you remember fourth year? You were my most special thing, because you were the first real best friend I had ever had! But you don't understand that! You don't understand that you, Sirius, and Hermione were the closest things to family that I ever had! And Sirius died and the rest of my family wasn't even here to mourn him with me." He looked at Ron, tears making his eyes appear brighter and more luminous than usual. "But, see, even now you don't understand how that can be. I think that's what hurts the most… the fact that you never felt as strongly as I did. I could never mean as much to you as you do to me. And the fact that I haven't seen you in a year and a half shows that much." Harry looked down and single tear managed to escape its emerald prison to fall to the carpet. "You were my special something, Ron, that something that would hurt me beyond anything else if it left... and you did leave and you did hurt me. I'm thankful for the time we had… but it's been a year and a half…"

"But Harry… we're not that different… and next time…" Ron couldn't help the shock that was coursing through him. To know that Harry had carried all these feelings inside him… Ron also couldn't help the irritation that coursed through him over the fact that Harry was right; he didn't, couldn't, understand the feelings that Harry had.

"How long?" the sudden question made Ron pause.

"What?"

"How long, till the next time?" Harry asked, looking up, his gaze still clouded, even though the rain was gone now. "Another year and a half? Will you come strolling back in expecting everything to be the same?" A sad look was on Harry's face. "I can't take another year and a half not knowing if you're ever going to visit." Harry looked Ron in the eye and Ron was suddenly treated with a look that he had never thought to get from Harry; it was distant and Ron almost wondered who, exactly, he was looking at. "Don't bother coming back," Harry whispered, "If you're going to walk out that door and not bother on visiting for another year and a half. Next time, I'll close the goddamn door on your face."

"Harry?"

"I think you should leave now, Ron… And think about what I said…" A sad smile crossed over Harry's face. "Severus understands me, Ron, and that means everything to me... When you walk out that door, I want you to go and think… and if you think you can accept the new me, with Severus who, through the past year, has been a truer friend then you, come back tomorrow. If not… don't bother coming back at all."

Ron, in shock, didn't offer any resistance as Harry all but pushed Ron through the hallway and out the door. Before he closed it, Harry said, "I'll be waiting… but I won't expect anything…" A sad smile. "It won't be the first time you've let me down…" And them Harry was gone, leaving Ron to stare at a blank door, wondering why he had been such a stupid git all these years.

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IMPORTANT NOTE: For those of you that wish it, DUE TO MY SPORADIC postings, I am offering you, the readers, A MAILING LIST to sign up to. When I finally UPDATE, I will SEND OUT AN EMAIL informing those of you that are on the list that I have finally updated. I need you to EMAIL me, telling that you wish to sign up, and whether it's for ORIGINAL FICTION or FANFICTION. I WILL NOT accept those people that ask to be up on it in a review because I can't be sure that email is real. The mailing list will ALSO OFFER the TITLES of those works that I am posting, the COUPLES (if any) that are in it, which FANDOM it is from, and whether it is a SEQUEL to anything.

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Petra: So, there it is... I think we did a really good job on it.   
Kati: How do you think we did on the characters?   
Petra: Obviously, Severus was out of character but, then, he was supposed to be.   
Kati: And Harry and Ron?   
Petra: Tell me how I did folks!   
Kati: Also, please remember to check out our site!   
Petra: Also, thanks to:

MYSTIC DRAGONSFIRE: Thank you! Here's more... At the moment I don't have anything else planned, just vague ideas but nothing clear. shrug Who knows, this might be the end of the arc... though, somehow, I doubt it.   
C-CHAN: That's okay. It confused me but I shrugged on and answered it anyways. laugh Do you really think Snape was in-character? looks at fic I think that's one of the best compliments I've ever been given. I just wrote and, though in my opinion, I don't think he's in character at all... shrug As long as you, adored reader, like it, who am I to say nay? laugh How did you like this chapter?

"I dream of a day when I can open my eyes, and my dreams won't disappear."   
-Rose Marie Ledam

Petra Megami Assari   
The Gentle Tiger Goddess


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